Customer Reviews

Spontaneous Combustion

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Fans of Liquid Tension Experiment will feel absolutely compelled to grab this CD. I would strongly advise against viewing it as LTE # 3, because it is not that. It isn't even 'LTE 2-Part 2.' Instead we are treated to a whole NEW group... and that is a GREAT thing! The 13 songs on this release were recorded when Liquid Tension Experiment 2 was in pre-production by Tony Levin(b)/Mike Portnoy(d)/Jordan Rudess(k) while John Petrucci's wife went into premature labor. So, one birth turned into two! Enter, LIQUID TRIO EXPERIMENT!

Portnoy has a brief liner note attached that claims that it is raw; no overdubs, editing or mixing since the original master tapes went missing. The CD was created from his personal live 2-track stereo DAT mixes. (IMHO, they sound absolutely terrific!) The final product is "just three guys, their instruments, and their spontaneous imaginations feeding off of each other!" While I believe this statement to be true, some outline 'map work' is present in the CD inlay.

Each improv is an absolute treat to listen to. This group relies more on atmosphere or groove as opposed to the shredding found on the original LTE CDs. Honestly, the closest band(s) that I can compare this release to would be the fractal ProjeKcts that Tony Levin's band King Crimson released in the late 90s - right around the time that these songs were recorded in 1998. (ProjeKct One: Live at the Jazz Cafe ProjeKct Two: Space Groove ProjeKct Three: Projekct Three - Masque ProjeKct Four: West Coast Live)

If you dig The ProjeKcts, then 'Spontaneous Combustion' is a must have.

Read the liner notes! These guys rented a studio and then Petrucci's wife went into Labor and had to leave. Why not use the studio time for a timeless unaltered jam session? This album is a rare glimpse into a musicians world where these kind of jam sessions are the cosmic building blocks of music. Of course you will hear riffs and whatnot from other places and times. I like that it's released like it's recorded. So many diamonds in the rough.

I love all these guys but without Petrucci it is just empty. If you liked the first two LTE albums and/or like DT, don't buy this.

The best way to describe this in a short phrase is "Amazing Extended Prog-Jazz Improvisation." The musicians playing (Tony Levin, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess) play exceptionally well together. They fit their parts in really well in terms of melodies and harmonies, listening to each other's parts for a few seconds and fitting in an independent set of phrases that seems tailored to the rest of the piece. It picks up speed from the first track onwards and shows a great balance between the instruments as well as an incredible level of creativity. I was looking for pieces that had acoustic piano playing jazzy chords and strong bass lines that drove the melody and the harmony(really a Chapman Stick), and this CD has plenty of that as well as synthesizer sounds, funky bass parts, and great drum parts that can only be a genre of its own. The majority of the tracks flow in as one improvisation, and there are all sorts of tones and moods exhibited. I recommend this CD to anyone who likes instrumental improvisations and is really open to experimental music. It might take a few listens to adjust to their sound, but in my opinion, it is worth listening to.

i can understand both sides of the argument of how people find this either good or bad. i came into this album understanding that it was really nothing but jamming. i cant say other than this cd that i have a strictly jam cd. obviously with dream theater, king crimson, and even liquid tension experiment, the songs are written and composed, meant to go together. this is just a trio of musicians having fun and i think it's pretty cool. a lot of the stuff they come up with is beyond any music i've ever listened to hence the word ''experiment'' in the name of this group. there are certainly some rough parts within this cd which is what turns me a little bit off about it. but, the parts that are actually held together really do astound me because, being a drummer myself, i can see so many parts portnoy holds together where i would fall off track showing that he is very experienced. if i were able to give it 3.5 stars though i probly would because that's what i truthfully think it deserves. because im such a DT freak i rounded them up a notch. pretty fun stuff, but if u cant handle purely jams with no real rudimentary idea behind it, then it isn't for u. if ur just down to listen to it for fun, then have fun listening to it when u purchase it!

Yes, it is what you expect from Levin, Portnoy and Rudess. If you want an insider's front row seat to their private studio, here (hear) it is. It's just fun listening to the experimentation, let alone the talent.

This album is pretty much like the "Item Description", musicians playing around in the studio. This may be an album a hard core Portnoy fan may want who collects everything an artist puts out. There are some spots of good instrument playing here but no real coherency. The rhythm section catches a groove and about the time the keyboardist invents a melody the drums switches time and it all falls apart. The musicians are just playing around and jamming, this should not have been released as an album. There are spaces between tracks but these aren't songs. It is so obvious that during these tracks the musicians get lost from one another and are just flying by the seat of their pants. If they were going to release this they should have taken the found melodies and grooves off the tape and composed them into something tight and resembling a song, then put an album together. Since none of these musicians are dead or bankrupt I don't see why something like this would hit the street. This is a novelty at best. If you want to hear what musicians jamming in the studio sounds like when it is ready for public consumption get James Newton Howard & Friends on the Telarc label. Anyone who has ever been on the car audio competition circuits should recognize some tracks off that album.

Well. I couldn't wait to get this CD after I heard the other LE works. This one however, falls short of the brilliant tracks you hear on their other CD's. It sounds like three people jamming and not knowing where they are going as if you have a new lineup. I couldn't even classify the style; Does not sound progressive or rocky or anything like that. I don't know if it's Portnoy's influence or input because this Cd sounds a bit like the latest OSI. The three stars are for the band members on the merit of their talent but not for this CD. Sorry guys, this experiment does not do it for progressive rockers.

This album is shameful. It is nothing like DT or LTE. I can heard Portnoy say "Let's put out the scraps of a session, they'll buy it".

Hey Mikey...we don't buy (and then love) everything you all create.

I had no idea of what this cd would sound like but I was pleasantly surprised the recording quality is fantastic especially when you are using a good Hi Fi system. Great cover and great music!